Are you actively quiet? Do you shrink back into a corner when we need your voice most? Or, are you quietly active? Do you cook up plans in your bedroom without much outward noise, ready to reveal your project when it’s finally done? There is something to be said for being quietly active. It means that you’re hard at work, head down, focused on whatever the thing in front of you is.

It occurred to me recently that the word enjoy kind of sounds like “in joy.” And maybe that’s what it is. To really enjoy something, you must steep yourself in it. Let it permeate. Simmer. Cook. Bake. Choose your kitchen analogy. The more time you spend “in joy,” the more you get the benefits of enjoyment.

Almost everything I consume these days comes from an algorithm that I didn’t ask for. In some ways, I appreciate these algorithms. Spotify and YouTube have introduced me to more good content than I can shake a stick at. And yet… There was a time when I would go into Best Buy (which had a CD section that spanned several rows and had CDs at lower prices than most other places) and buy a CD based on the album art.

My mom used to say that if I didn’t assign a religion to my children that they would have no community. I now realize this is false; community is simply a combination of common values and unity. You can create this sort of arrangement in many different ways. A neighborhood, a soccer club, playing bridge, etc… But what’s missing is turning something like religion into spirituality. Religion may have the ingredients for spirituality, but it does not necessitate it.

We don’t build in time to process life events. I think [[holidays]] are the ancient way of doing this. Christmas break is often a time to stop and think. New Years resolutions perhaps too. But a process to process might mean a weekly/montly moment that isn’t tied to a specific event, to sit down and get [[coaching]] or do some [[scoaching]]. Sample questions: What emotional items need processing? What have I been avoiding?